I know what you are thinking. They come together. That’s what social enterprise is all about. A business model that ties in social outcomes with the business operations in perfect harmony. The two are inextricably linked; otherwise it would be a charity that trades, or a business that does corporate social responsibility.

I would like to argue that there is another way. The journey to social enterprise can be a process, and we should encourage and celebrate that. When does a charity with a trading arm become a social enterprise? And how much social value does a business have to add before it can be called a social enterprise?

We have some answers for some of these questions. Some people say that a business is a social enterprise when at least 50% of the profits go towards social improvement.

Having coached and supported more than 250 social enterprises for more than half a decade, and through running my own business, I can tell you that in the early months and years, every pound of cash flow is vital. Without adequate cash flow for maintenance of operations and growth, any business, or charity will cease to exist.

I’ve seen many startup social enterprises struggle with this when getting started. It can be extremely hard to give away that much in the early days when you need it for sustenance of your own life and enterprise. The UK has a great social investment sector, but what about those entrepreneurs that don’t want outside investors?

I think there is another path that isn’t talked about enough. That is the path of gradually incorporating social values and benefits in your entire business as you grow.

It is within this category that some of the largest contributors of social value sit. Small social enterprises are great. But if we want growth in the sector, we need large social enterprises.

I don’t mind if you started off as an enterprise, and added the social later, and I don’t think anyone else should either. I believe that if enough socially minded people build businesses, they will eventually put the “social” in their enterprises when they can.

I don’t think we should expect people to build perfect social enterprises from day one. It’s just too hard most of the time. I’ve seen it. People sacrifice salary for social benefit. That’s not sustainable. Build a business that works, and add the social values as you grow. Trying to get everything perfect from day one will kill you.

It’s just too hard for most new bootstrapped businesses to have a completely social supply chain, carbon neutral offices, organic, fair trade and locally sourced everything.

So go out there. Be a business for a bit. Get some money coming in. Know your purpose and your goals, and don’t worry if you are not perfect yet. You can be perfect later. For now, just get started, and keep going. We need your ideas in the world.

I love supporting people to create and grow their businesses. For the last two years, I’ve quietly been taking my own advice.

In early 2015 I started looking for more ways to grow my own business. I wanted to create something not only of value to my customers, but that I could also happily work on from any where in the world. And would you believe, I did it. Right now, I can run a profitable business from any where with wifi.

What’s the business? Inspiring Adventures, of course!

Inspiring Adventures now makes travelling easier and safer. I know that simple precautions can save time and money later. That’s why I have started by offering a range of products that help protect and organise your most valuable goods on your travels.

The main way I reach customers is via Amazon in the UK and the USA. I shop on Amazon, and probably you do too, so it makes sense to also be selling my products there. For my British readers, I’m afraid my website does link to the US version of Amazon, but most of the products are available in the UK too!

This business has given me the opportunity to work for myself from anywhere in the world. And this year, we are also aiming to plant 1000 trees for our customers. I hope I can plant a tree for you!

How I started – Inspiration!

I found out about this opportunity two years ago. As mentioned on this blog, I went to Bali. I met lots of great people, including those that helped me publish my book. I also met an entrepreneur selling his products online, and he helped me learn how to get started.He still helps me to this day – Thanks J B!

Together with a small group of entrepreneurs, we launched our businesses together in 2015, helped each other find our stride in 2016, and continue to help each other grow in 2017.

There are always challenges with every business, and with every business model, and I continue to face these every day. That’s part of the learning and growth that entrepreneurs love.

If this kind of business is something that you’d like in your life, this short story is my inspiration to you. You can grow a business, work from multiple locations, on your own schedule, it is possible. It’s not always easy and straightforward, but it is possible. And once you know it’s possible, you can work towards it.

Do you want to know where you can swim with enormous fish in crystal clear hidden rivers, without harming the ecosystem? Or how you can safely visit the inner city favelas, and help support the people that live there at the same time?

Perhaps you’d like to stay at the most beautiful hotels and guesthouses in Brazil, while knowing that your choice is benefiting the local community and environment?

And if you are not traveling right now, the adventures and stories will entertain and encourage you to get planning and start packing!

I have published a collection of my travel stories from around Brazil and produced a new type of travel guide. I’m very proud of it, and I’m happy to say that it’s available now everywhere on Amazon.

Would you like to have unlimited energy every day? Would it mean you’d exercise more? Play and travel more? Give more to your work? Use it to inspire, motivate and connect with more people?

Below is my list of top tips from some of the recent health and energy programmes I’ve been on, including the juice fast at YogaBarn in Bali. and Unleash The Power Within, (UPW). They are working for me, and they might just work for your too!

Why not pick one and give it a try? Or pick all seven and you’ll be on an unstoppable force of nature.

1. Move more!

The fastest way to change your energy is to move! Change your physical state. Act like you have energy, and you will feel it. Try it now. Stand up! Shake your body, put your hands in the air and jump a few times! You’ve been sitting down too long anyway. If you are feeling brave, shout “I FREAKIN ROCK” as loud as you can too! That will wake you up.

Your physiology has a profound impact on your psychology. You already know this, right? Tony Robbins knows it too. That’s why he had us up, jumping, dancing and shouting regularly for 4 days during UPW. Here’s my video of us at 9 Saturday morning. We look a little crazy don’t we, but we had energy!

2. Breathe more!

The yogis amongst you will have been practicing this one for a while. They call it pranayama. It can be as simple as sitting still and breathing deeply into your stomach for a few breaths, to specific breathing patterns, regularly throughout the day. My preferred pattern uses the ratio of 1:4:2. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 16, exhale for 8, repeated 10 times. (Listen to Tony describe the 4 in 4 out version here at 1:10:30) Depending on the pattern you use, It’s an instant de-stresser, and energiser!

3°C and snow.

That’s what I woke up to on 3rd February 2015 in London. Not that unusual I suppose, it is winter after all. Winter in London. Then I smile. I know that from today, I’m going to Bali for 6 weeks.

I’m going for a number of reasons. Because I want to. Because I can. Because I’ve just finished a big project helping social entrepreneurs become investment ready. Because other entrepreneurs are going to be there too, working on their businesses. Because I want to take care of my health. Because I want to learn new skills, have new experiences, make new friends and meet new role models.

I love my life, work and friends in London, but it’s great to be able to spend weekends playing on deserted sandy beaches. One of my favourite hobbies.

Looking for capital? In collaboration with Impact Hub Westminster, I’m running their first ever Impact Investment Readiness programme. We designed it to help social entrepreneurs find impact investment within the next 12 months.

In October 2014, we took our first cohort through the programme (pictured above), and got some great feedback. If you are a social enterprise based in London, you can apply for the free programme until December 1st 2014.

Below you’ll find just a taste of some of the skills, tips and tricks that the #SocEnt startups were able to learn, and put into practice on the programme.

Play at the right level

You’ve heard of crowdfunding, you’ve watched Dragon’s Den, and you know you could get a loan from the bank. But which is right for you now?

If you are looking for the best free self-guided tour of East London, this is my recommended route. I recently worked with the British Council to guide a group mostly Hong Kong citizens around some of the best social enterprises in London. A great group NGO workers, academics, and social entrepreneurs. Get in touch via the comments if you’d like take this tour with me.

Bromley By Bow FoodCycle is a charity social enterprise that combines volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen spaces to create tasty, nutritious meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.

Service with a smile

Inside Foodcycle

Learning more about Foodcycle

We stopped for a talk from Helena Chouchani to learn more about their growing number of FoodCycle Hubs across the UK, and franchising plans for expansion. Of course we stayed for a yummy lunch too!

Bethnal Green Bikeworks runs a variety of community cycling programmes including employability for disadvantaged groups, all ability cycling, bicycle reuse and recycling, school cycle training and more. As a business it provides cycling services to consumers and organisations – so buy your next bike from here!

Going in

Beautiful shop (and group!)

We were lucky to have a private tour from co-founder Jim Blakemore. He talked about the entrepreneurial journey, and how their social outcomes can continue to grow as the business grows.

I was happy to learn that the Isle of Man is preparing to become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

No, this doesn’t mean it’ll have a huge dome placed over the top of it, and the government will preserve it as it is for the next 100 years.

It means that the Island has a balanced and diverse mix of ecosystem and population, and that it’s worth well managing that mix.

Biosphere reserves are places where nature can flourish and the local economy can grow. I’m looking forward to seeing this project develop, especially as it will almost certainly help outdoor adventure and education organisations like the Venture Centre.

I live in London, but the Isle of Man is my homeland. It’s a beautiful place to grow up. It’s also a pretty great independent economic microcosm. If you can test out an innovative business on the Isle of Man, and succeed with it, it might just be scalable around the world.

What do you already know about the Isle of Man? The TT motorbike races? Mark Cavendish? The special tax laws?

None of the above? If you’ve spent any time with me, you’ll know that I love to talk about it.

The question everyone asks: is it a country?

No, not exactly. It’s a self-governing British Crown Dependency, which is not part of the UK. It is one of the oldest continuous democratic governments in the world. That’s why I’m so diplomatic.

What’s the vision?

After a recent meeting with the Government Department for Economic Development, it was great to learn that the Island has the ambition to become an international hub for tech and e-business innovation.

Not a lot of people know that e-business is the fastest growing sector of the economy on the Island, and it’s estimated to provide 90% of the economic growth in the Island’s emerging business sectors by 2020. That’s a lot of growth from tech entrepreneurs. How can we make it happen?